Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own YuGiOh. Otherwise I'd laugh.
Stairway to Victory
Chapter 1: First Semester Scare
By: The Mystic Wanderer
"Josiah! Josiah Agan! Please report to the dueling arena to begin your Duelist Academy entrance exam!" rang a voice over the intercom, booming over the voices of non-students and students alike. A boy ran down the stairs with much haste, nearly tripping over his own feet a couple of times as he made his way to the designated duel area. The door to the arena opened, and the boy stepped inside, brushing himself off and checking his deck to make sure it was okay.
Josiah was a boy of simple stature, standing about five feet tall at the age of 16. His skin was a simple peach color, but the deep reddish-dark brown hair hinted of Irish descent. His hair wasn't in any particular style, just tossed around and dangling just a little bit above his eyes, which were a dull blue. He wore a simple, red, long-sleeved shirt with black stripes along the arms, a duel disk attached to his right wrist. Add a pair of blue jeans and some old, white, worn-out sneakers, and you completed his look.
Josiah looked around a bit, eyeing his teacher with interest; he was wearing something much different than the other instructors, clad in a uniform of deep gold with silver lining instead of their deep blue suits. He was about to ask why, when the man, who was, at a guess, about sixty or so, raised his own duel disk.
"My name is Argan Densk, but you'll refer to me as Professor Densk. I am the head of Ra, Executive Chairman of Techniques, and have been specifically ordered to be your Dueling Proctor. Be forewarned; I'm using my own deck. However, regardless of your win or loss, you will be admitted to Duelist Academy on orders from the Headmaster."
His voice was sent all over the arena, and this shocking revelation of automatic admission regardless of victory or loss sent whispers gamboling amidst the students.
Josiah grinned brightly, and then spoke up: "That's no fun. If I lose, I'll need to work on my dueling skills, and will bow out of this Academy gracefully. If I win, I'll stay. Of course, my chances of winning against you are slim, Professor Densk… but this is something I just can't let slip by!"
Another myriad of whispers floated along the crowd for a moment, then everything went silent, excluding the sounds of the other non-students being tested, which were being silenced so only they could hear. The Professor raised his arm, Duel Disk slipping into position, a grin appearing under his trimmed mustache.
"So be it. Let's duel!"
Josiah: 4000
Densk: 4000
Both Duelists drew five cards from their Duel Disks, then Josiah drew a sixth before a choice had been made on which one of them would go first. The Professor smirked, but said nothing, merely waiting for the boy's move.
"Sorry 'bout that, nasty habit of taking initiative… I'll lead with Legendary Hero - Bowman, in attack mode!" said Josiah, slapping a card onto his disk.
A man appeared on Josiah's side of the field, clad in a jean vest, sleeveless black shirt, and a pair of black pants with a holster on the side. A white bandanna was tied around his head, forcing his brown hair down flat. The man reached down to the side of his pants and pulled his black pistol out of the pistol, spinning it about. (1200/1000)
"I'll set a card face-down, then equip Bowman with the magic card Weapon Orb #1, which raises his attack by 300 points!"
Josiah slid two cards into his Duel Disk, a face-down card coming into view. The other card that appeared face-up had a picture of a shining white orb with the very same pistol Bowman was holding on it. Josiah's monster's free hand shone with white light, then a new pistol appeared in it, only glowing. (1500/1000)
"I end my turn, Professor."
Densk smiled, drawing a card from his disk and setting it into his hand. "Interesting. Were you hoping I'd attack? Based on your cards, which seemed to be of the Legendary Heroes and Evils variety, a unique set… that face-down card is more than likely either Ryn's Curse or Resistance Force."
Josiah did his absolute best to hide his shocked face; he had indeed set Resistance Force face-down, and this guy picked it out. The Professor couldn't help but chuckle a bit, taking a card from his hand and setting it down onto his disk.
"Don't worry, child. I'm experienced. So.. I'll just have to play Aged Master - Ro in attack mode!"
A shimmering light brought forth an old, weathered man, balding heavily and dressed in deep black garb like the ancient kung-fu masters wore. He bowed heavily in the direction of Josiah's monster, then adopted a fighting stance similar to that of crane style. (1700/1500)
"My Master's ability is useful, to say the least. All I need do is discard two cards from my hand on my turn to destroy any one magic or trap card on the field. So I'll activate it to destroy your face-down card."
The Professor slid two cards into his graveyard, and his monster reverted to a standing position, clapping it's hands together and whispering inaudibly. A blue aura suddenly appeared around the man, and he thrust his hands outward, a stream of Chinese characters forming from the aura and rushing across the field to the face-down card, obliterating it.
"Then, I'll have to end my turn, since I'm also aware of Weapon Orb #1's effect to let you take any equip magic card from your deck once it's destroyed. I'll deal with that later, so I'll just have to set a card face-down and end my turn."
Josiah drew another card, trying to remain as calm and collected as possible. He cast his gaze over to Densk's monster, then an idea popped into his head. He smiled inwardly and took two cards from his hand, sliding them into his duel disk. He was just about to activate one of them when the Professor spoke up: "You've got to think outside of the box, dear boy. You're obviously going to use Emperor's Might or Zonestar Lore."
Once again, Josiah was absolutely boggled at the Professor's knowledge of his dueling strategy. The two cards he had placed were Book of Time and Zonestar Lore; how Densk knew one of them was beyond him. Still, he managed a smile, and pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "You're right about the cards, Professor. Geez, you're the most challenging opponent I've ever dueled. I'll activate Zonestar Lore, which I'm sure you know the effect of."
"It allows us to both take one level 5 or lower spellcaster from our deck and summon it to the field in face-up defense position. And let me make a guess… you're going to summon Legendary Hero - Heather? In that case, I'll have to summon Western Mage - Straybow!"
The monster that appeared on Josiah's side of the field was a girl, draped in fantastic white robes with a staff in hand, golden hair dancing about her face. She was kneeling down, her arms crossed, eyes closed, smiling brightly. (800/1000)
On the other hand, the monster on the Professor's side of the field looked to be a cocky mage, wearing bright blue robes which clashed horribly with his scarlet cape, a birch rod with a crystal ball at the end in his hand. He was standing, but his arms were crossed, signaling defense. (1800/2000)
"You know about my Legendary Hero - Heather's effect, which destroys all face-up effect monsters when she's sent to the graveyard from the field! So, I'll activate the ritual card Book of Time, and send my Bowman and Heather to the graveyard for a total of nine stars! Say goodbye to your two monsters, while I say hello to a free equip card!"
As the girl disappeared from Josiah's side of the field, she swung her staff, releasing a wave of energy which sliced through the Professor's monsters. However, only Aged Master - Ro shattered into digital data, whereas Straybow had his wand arm up, and had conjured a shining, translucent shield to protect himself.
"Silly boy. Straybow's power protects him from destruction via other effect monsters. That's why I chose him… and I'm guessing you didn't have a chance to study up on the Ancient Warriors cards before your exam?" joked Densk, grinning widely.
"Hmph. I'll use my sacrifices to summon Legendary Hero - Gem Father in attack mode! His first effect allows me to immediately play the field magic card Gem Palace from my deck, hand, or graveyard!" said Josiah in a raised voice, now becoming agitated.
A white aura appeared on the field, then swirled together, a thick, leatherbound book forming from the aura. The aura magnified, then took the shape of a human, then there was a bright flash and Josiah's monster had taken form. It was a man with a short brown beard and a head full of hair, dressed in immaculate white robes that shone with his power. His eyes had no pupils; they were pure white. A hand from the man shot out and grabbed his book, then he began to flip through it idly. (3000/3000)
The Professor couldn't help but smile again. "Activate trap card, Amakusa's Spirit Trap!" The man pressed a button on his duel disk, which revealed his face down card, which had the picture of a painted festival lantern on it. "This helpful card will negate the activation of ALL the effects from one monster on the field, which in this case, is your Gem Father! I can't have you using his second effect to return cards from your graveyard to your hand at five hundred life points a card."
Josiah's monster looked up as a bright red lantern descended upon it, drawing a bright blue orb from within the monster's chest and locking it inside the lantern, which shifted over to the Professor's side soon after. This caused Josiah to frown; it was now dawning upon him that his cockiness had gotten the best of him, since this opponent was far beyond him.
"Whatever! I'll have my Gem Father attack your Straybow!" was the agitated response, Josiah pointing to the defending mage. Gem Father closed his book and raised a hand; nothing happened for a moment, then Straybow exploded in rays of rainbow light. Densk shook his head and shrugged.
"I'll lose five hundred life points from Straybow's unfortunate second ability. A noble sacrifice."
Josiah: 4000
Densk: 3500
"I'll then activate the magic card Card of Sanctity! Let's both draw to six cards, Professor. Sadly, I draw five, and you only draw four." Josiah said, his words dripping with hidden anger.
"That's much too helpful of you, Josiah."
Both duelists drew their respective amounts of cards, and Josiah finally felt a pang of hope. He took three of his cards and slid them into his duel disk, grinning brightly. "Care to take a guess at what these are, Professor?"
Densk's brow furrowed for a second, then the aged man smiled. "I can't tell. You've got me stumped on this one." Josiah balled his free hand into a fist and grinned even wider, holding back a laugh.
"Slipping a bit? You'll need to shape up if you want to keep your life points. I end my turn!"
The Professor drew a card into his hand, then slid a pair of cards into his Duel disk. "I'll first activate the magic card Heavy Storm! Let's remove all these pesky magic and traps from the field."
"Heh. I predicted that you'd do something like that, so I prepared a little something just in case! Activate trap card, Oceania's Storm Barrier! This card protects my trap and magic cards for one turn, at the cost of one thousand life points." said Josiah, pressing a button on his Duel Disk as the Heavy Storm whipped itself up. A bright blue shield sprang up from his trap card, covering his trap and magic zone as the storm raged across the field, destroying Densk's face-down card and his face-up Amakusa's Spirit Trap.
Josiah: 3000
Densk: 3500
"Aha. Since my face-down card was a nasty little number referred to as Odio's Cry, it'll eliminate all monsters on the field when it's destroyed, and deduct life points from each duelist equal to half the power of their destroyed monsters." muttered the Professor, gesturing to Josiah's Gem Father. A deep cry bellowed across the field, then an eruption of dark purple energy cast the entire arena in shadow for a moment. When it faded, Josiah's Legendary Hero was nowhere to be found.
Josiah: 1500
Densk: 3500
"Now, I'll activate the magic card Luuluu Dance, which doubles your life points and protects them for one turn, but allows me to summon a monster from my hand at no cost. So, come to me, Shinsanken Master - Lei Kuugo!"
A single Chinese character appeared in bright white on Densk's side of the field, then it rippled as if it were a barrier, from which came a girl dressed in a bright red, Chinese-style dress, her brown hair done in a ponytail which dangled down to the small of her back. She clapped her hands once, then moved into a fighting position. (2500/2500)
Josiah: 3000
Densk: 3500
"I'll set one card face-down and end my turn, since Luuluu Dance is preventing me from attacking."
Josiah drew a card and pressed two buttons on his Duel Disk. "Activate card combo! Zonestar Heritage and Ascension Ceremony! Now be a dear, Professor, and tell me what these do!"
Professor Densk looked rather shocked for a moment, then quickly regained his composure and nodded. "As you wish. Zonestar Heritage allows you to summon Legendary Hero - Joseph from your hand or deck for the cost of one thousand life points. Ascension Ceremony upgrades your Legendary Hero - Joseph into Destiny Guardian - Joseph for three thousand life points. Tell me, Josiah… how to you hope to pull this off when doing it will cost you the duel?"
Josiah grinned. "You've really let go, Professor Densk. The second my life points hit zero, you'll see what I mean." The boy grabbed the card that slid out of his deck, and set it on the field, a black-haired boy in mottled-gray robes appearing, drawing a golden staff out of nowhere and swinging it about with a smile. (1600/1900)
"That means… you have Peter's Final Stand in your hand, am I correct? The card that raises your life points to one above zero until the end of your next turn, and can be activated from your hand?" queried the Professor.
Josiah nodded, moving his Legendary Hero - Joseph to the discard pile and pulling a card from his deck, setting it in the exact same position. The same boy returned, only this time, he seemed a little taller, and wore bright ivory chest plate over his robes. His staff was now pure white with an amazing gem atop it, and the boy's aura rippled with power. (3100/3500)
"I activate the magic card Peter's Last Stand! As per it's effect, I won't lose the duel until the end of my next turn, at which point my life points will drop to negative one thousand or more, if you attack." yelled Josiah, sliding a card into his duel disk.
Josiah: 1
Densk: 3500
"I activate Destiny Guardian - Joseph's special ability to instantly destroy every card on your side of the field when he's summoned!" said Josiah, clenching his fist tightly.
"Then I'll have to activate the trap card Odio's Gateway! This'll remove my monster from play until the end of your turn, young man."
A rather large, demonic looking door appeared behind Densk's Shinsanken Master, then it flew open, revealing a large, blue portal, his monster retreating into it before Josiah's monster raised it's staff, sending a single wave of light over his side of the field, destroying the gate.
"Hmph. I'll have my Destiny Guardian attack you directly, and thanks to another special ability of his, I gain life points equal to the amount you lose!" cackled Josiah, pointing at Densk threateningly.
The boy monster raised it's staff again, a ball of light appearing at the tip before shooting outwards as a beam, piercing past the Professor's Duel Disk and sending him back a few steps. Even with all the commotion, Josiah could hear the 'oohs' and 'aahs' of the students who were watching, and he couldn't help but grin himself.
Josiah: 3101
Densk: 400
"Well played, Josiah. But remember, at the end of your turn, my Shinsanken Master will return, seeking vengeance. I guarantee my victory on the turn following my next." said the Professor, smiling cheerily.
Josiah blinked, then shrugged. "Fine then, show me what you've got!"
End of Chapter 1. Interesting, ne?
My head's about to explode. I'll write Chapter 2 later, or something. I'm notorious for changing subjects.